A Simple Love Story
by Kira-Reen
Summary: Konoha has been at war with sound for a while now...Kakashi gets injured on a mission just as Konoha manages to finally push Sound back. KakaShizu romance story. Chapter 2: She didn't know why she tried anymore..
1. As always it starts with angst & tragedy

A/N: Ok….crazy plotbunny caught me and shook me by the ears until I had to put it down at 12am on a school night! Aiee…Erm…background info: This fic is set sometime in the hypothetical Naruto future when Konoha is under siege by Sound. It contains an absolutely illogical KakashixShizune pairing…Please Read and review as always…

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. My fic has absolutely no association to Kishimoto and co. It is pure unadulterated crap…and the characters are extremely OOC. Read at your own peril. Flames will be fed to my fire-breathing dragon of a brother who chain smokes at home and gives me asthma attacks…

Chapter 1-As Always it starts with Angst/Tragedy

Part 1

Kakashi panted hard as he stopped atop one of the branches. Something trickled down his forehead. He could not tell if it were sweat or blood. He was too far gone for that by now.

Pain flared as he moved his right hand, forming seals with it. He summoned Pakkun and ordered him to patrol the border Kakashi had just left. Sound had broken through yet another barrier. Konoha had to be notified.

But he could not leave the place undefended. Correction, **they**, could not leave the place undefended. He glanced back at his squad mates who had just arrived. Asuma and Kurenai were breathing heavily, their arms laden with two Konoha Chuunin. Kakashi had been the front guard, meant to take out any enemy nins in front, clearing a path for the burdened pair.

Normally, in combat situations such as these, the injured were left behind. But these shinobi were not injured, merely knocked out form the effects of some sort of poisonous gas. Besides, it was either bring them along, or kill them and dispose of them completely. The enemy had ways of acquiring information even from dead bodies.

And Kakashi was sworn to protect. _Anyway, _a more jaded part of his mind whispered, _we didn't have time to burn their bodies. _

So here they were. Three Konoha Jounin, all suffering from the effects of the previously mentioned poison. 2 of them extremely fatigued from carrying the Chuunin. The other…

Kakashi looked down at his blood-soaked uniform. The Chidori was a gory, blood-spattering technique. But usually, he didn't get any blood on himself. That was why it was such an efficient technique.

_It was a silent night. There was no moon out tonight. Even the heavens did not wish to witness this day. He crept across the floor, his katana drawn. The victim swirled to meet him. Both men had heads of grey hair. One young. One old. The youth raised his sword and was knocked back by a strong swift parry. He grimaced as he noticed the man's attire. Samurai. He would have to use other means. The wolf felt Obito's eye throb as he gathered chakra at it. Scarce seconds later, the man was dead, killed by a move he had barely seen. The wolf removed his hand from the other's chest. Blood poured out copiously. He looked at the spreading patch on the floor for a moment. He turned to his blood-splattered hand, staring in twisted horror at it. His uniform though, was speck-less. The wolf idly wondered if the state of his soul was reflected by his hand, or his uniform. The sound of a flipped switch alerted him. He left the way he came, by the backdoor. Creatures of the night rarely entered by the front. _

Kakashi returned to the present slowly. Kurenai was looking at him weirdly. "What?" he asked, woozily making his way over to where she and Asuma had put down the other two. Yep, the blood was definitely all his then. The problem with being point, was that you got into a lot more scrapes and expended more chakra than the others. It was also why Kakashi had decided to take point.

While he was no megalomaniac, he knew very well that he was the strongest of the three of them. Still, he had his weak points too. The Sharingan sapped most of his strength and the number of times he had been forced to use Raikiri was beginning to take their toll on him. But he would have to go on. There was no other option. Pakkun returned, barking furiously. Break time was over.

Kurenai and Asuma got up sluggishly. Kakashi counted 15 chakra signatures in their immediate vicinity, and more approaching. They were surrounded. He cursed wildly as the Sound nins descended on them. He blinked furiously as his vision blurred.

Thrust. Parry. Look for openings. Parry. Parry. Crimson blood sprayed. Was it his? He didn't know. His opponent slipped and he dived under, creating a red fountain of his own. But he had no time to see it. His eyes burned desperately. Suddenly, he was left alone and glanced to his left, seeing Kurenai trapped in a corner. Asuma was no where to be seen.

Kakashi didn't think. He didn't plan. He simply reacted. _Ninja who don't protect their friends are worse than trash. _ It was not his own code. But it was the rule by which he lived his life. Kurenai was more than an acquaintance, she was a friend. And she needed his help.

So he plunged into battle, throwing caution to the wind, going in with his kunai out. Minutes, (or was it seconds?) later it was done. The floor was scattered with enemy dead and miraculously, the Konoha nin were all still alive. Kakashi wanted to scream, cry, collapse on the ground. He wanted to do something, but he couldn't.

Asuma and Kurenai stood a little to his left, both locked in embrace. So he turned away, leaning down to the two unconscious Chuunin to check their pulses. In the fight, the Sound shinobi had been too intent on killing the other three to pay attention to two who were already incapacitated. He breathed a sigh of relief – the pair was still alive.

"We have to move and break for camp", he said softly. The original plan had been to make for Konoha straight. But with the hasty, burdened flight and the major skirmish that had just occurred, none of them were in any shape to travel. Kakashi stood up, wincing as pain suddenly gripped his left leg. He would have to bind it later; hopefully, it wasn't broken.

Asuma released Kurenai and faced Kakashi. The normally hearty man's face was drawn and pale from blood loss and he looked like he was about to fall over. Kurenai looked no better. Kakashi knew he had made the right decision.

But Asuma had always been more concerned about the village so he opened his mouth. "Kakashi, we have to – " the other never gave him a chance to finish protesting, he merely held up a hand and glanced surreptiously at Kurenai, implying that it was for her sake.

Asuma loved her. And so he stopped. Love, in Kakashi's eyes, made you weak. It made unshakeable men like Asuma change their minds. And it allowed men like Kakashi to manipulate others, twisting them one way or another. Love was not worth it.

"We make camp, dress our wounds, catch some sleep and start out when the sun sets", he dictated. The other two nodded. Hatake Kakashi was, after all, their senior. He had been a field commander when they had been earning their stripes as Chuunin. It was the painful truth though, that he was a year younger than both of them. But they didn't mind. Not really.

It was because Hatake Kakashi, while having earned a reputation for being as cold as the winds blowing in Antarctica, had also earned the reputation of always bringing his comrades back with him. So they trusted him, and admired him and even teased him on occasion. But he was never their friend. Not really.

The trio found a secluded clearing and started a fire before beginning an injury assessment. Bruises galore, cuts of every kind, from tiny nicks that stung like ant bites to long deep gashes which showed flashes of white bone and made you want to shriek. But such were a ninja's occupational hazards, and so they said nothing, merely dressing the wounds and stitching them up as they best could.

"I'll take first watch", he said in a tone that brooked no protestation. He had a feeling that if he fell asleep, he might not wake up again. So he sat up high on a tree branch as the other two dozed on the ground. Weariness blurred his vision. He did not make a good watcher this night.

Finally, it was Asuma's turn and Kakashi dropped to the ground to awaken the other before lying down on the grassy ground. Drowsiness overtook him and he gracefully acquiesced to it. But it was momentary. He was plagued by images of those two embracing, of them kissing, of the way they often held hands. He tried to shake it off but he couldn't.

Love was folly. Love exposes you to weakness. Love brought pain. But love, love also gave companionship. Love gave you comfort. Love let you lean on another. And Hatake Kakashi desperately wanted that. He wanted to stop being in-charge all the time. He wanted to feel another's skin against his own. He wanted…Kakashi realized with surprise…he wanted to love.

Battlefields were, of course, the worse places to discover such a fact. It was also one of the most common places this longing crept upon soldiers. Kakashi supposed that it had something to do with being so close to death. Even for shinobi, for whom death was an almost daily occurrence, war time brought the Grim Reaper closer. Kakashi shuddered. He had had the occasion of catching a glimpse of the Death God once. It had not been pretty.

He was being shaken awake suddenly, voices calling his name. So he opened his eyes and rolled over, ignoring the ache that had somehow spread to his entire right leg. It was poisoned. He could feel it.

Asuma stood in front of him with Pakkun by his side. He snorted. Pakkun never ever brought good news. "Let me guess? More bad news?" the bitterness overlaying his tone made the other jounin raise an eyebrow. Kakashi was never this cynical. He was always cold, always distant. He always had a mask on. The mask, it seemed, was cracking.

Pakkun brushed it off though. He was used to the wolf's prickly moods and bouts of cynicism. "Sound's coming through from the north, gaki. They're heading straight for the borders and one of the parties are heading straight here. They'll be here, five minutes max. You have to get yourself and the rest outta here. And you gotta alert the village", the nin-dog advised.

"We know", Kakashi replied. He dismissed the dog. They wouldn't need him; not if they were going to run again. Asuma had already woken Kurenai as Kakashi gathered his thoughts. He couldn't run, of that he was certain. His leg which had been throbbing for hours was now inflamed and he had had to hack the boot strings off so that the blood supply was not cut off.

At the same time, the other two could not run that fast – they were as tired as he was and injured in several places as well, not to mention the aftereffects of the poisoned gas. They needed to get out and he couldn't. They needed a diversion. He made up his mind quickly. People had often assumed that Hatake Kakashi was out for power. They thought he was trying to restore glory to his family name by using a stolen organ. They could not be further from the truth.

The reason Kakashi, like many of his other comrades, had not turned missing-nin was because of two promises. One he had made to a friend who had died for Konoha. The other he had made to a sensei who had sacrificed not just his life, but everything else as well for the hidden village. To out it quite simply, he lived for the dead. And that, while not being healthy for his mental state or his romance life, meant that he had no other ambition in life or any particular affinity to life.

He had been born to be a ninja. He had lived a ninja's life from the age of 5. And he would die a ninja's death at the age of 29. It was the way things had to be. And he was alright with that.

It wasn't that he wanted to die. It was just that he didn't want to live either. So he told them the plan and overruled their objections cruelly. He was the senior. It was his game. And he brutally reminded them of it.

And if Kurenai looked at him with pain in her red eyes, or Asuma glared at him for seemingly betraying their friendship, Kakashi pretended not to see. The dead could not feel pain after all.

So they left the Chuunin behind. And he stayed. He took out a kunai and cut the boot off his swollen leg before removing the other as well.

It was time to rumble.

A/N:Ok...so that's done. If you want more please review! Eh...if anyone was wondering why I skipped the action...well...this fic is romance/angst/drama...its about two lonely people (kakashi and shizune of course...) who find each other and all the difficulties and sappiness that accompanies their story...yeps...so as always, please read and review!


	2. A continuation of the angst

Chapter 2-A continuation of the Angst…

(A/N: Hiya…here's chap 2. The 1st part is in Kashi's POV, but somehow it changed to Kiba's…don't ask why…the 2nd longer part is in Shizune's POV…it was really hard to write because she's not a character with a lot of screen time and I've never written her before. Shizune's hard to figure out…but something about her seems to remind me of Kakashi and that's how I came up with the pairing…maybe its their sorrow. Please read and review! Thanks to all who have reviewed so far…responses are at the bottom.)

The next few moments were spent setting traps of all sorts. His nose caught the smell of humans in the wind. _Amateurs._ That boded well. If the enemy was no more than a pack of Chuunins…maybe he could come out of this alive after all.

But even Chuunins can do damage in great numbers as he found out later. His only comfort was that he was still alive, if barely, while they were all dead. He dragged himself to shelter, determined to get as far away from the site as possible. He was eventually reduced to crawling one-handed as his right foot gave way. He stopped for a moment, panting harshly as black spots overwhelmed his vision. _Keep moving. _

He listened and continued on, completely unaware of his surroundings. Action kept blood pumping. Action kept him alive. So he kept moving, inching a bloody trail south, toward home. Only sheer luck had maneuvered him the right way.

He lost it eventually, succumbing to seductive darkness. It was luck again that an Inuzuka happened to be on patrol on the south-east post that day. Kiba instantly recognized the silver-hair of Hatake Kakashi, one-time sensei of his batch mates Sakura and Naruto. He dragged the man to safety and sent for a medic.

They were in a lull now. Sound had been pushed back a few hours ago after timely warning from Kurenai and Asuma. Hidden Sound had not expected Hidden Leaf to be waiting in such large force and they had broken rank and scattered, allowing Konoha ninja to search and destroy them one by one. Leaf had dealt a great blow today and Sound had retreated all the way to their own borders to sit and lick their wounds.

So Kiba could afford to take the time to call for aid and make sure the jounin's wounds were staunched. The man was, after all, someone precious to friends of his. And Kurenai-sensei had once told him that Team seven's instructor was one of Konoha's respected warriors. It was only proper then for him to care for the other. Besides, an Inuzuka would never leave an injured comrade to fend for himself. Not even when his entire clan seemed to have some strange grudge against the comrade in question.

Kiba lifted the older man gently onto the loft bed he sometimes used on late nights when he was too lazy after shifts. Gah…the silver-haired jounin was heavier than he looked. Kiba's nose perked at the smell of fear suddenly roiling off the man. He frowned. The other shinobi was sweating heavily and his face was clenched in an unpleasant expression. Shock dreams than. Hah! Who ever said that he never listened to Hinata-chan!

So…what was he supposed to do if the patient was in shock? He drew a blank, Ok…so maybe he should have listened more to his medic friends. Or perhaps he should have at least attended field medicine lessons. Kiba sighed; while he was at it, he probably should not have slept through Iruka-sensei's lessons at the Academy as well. Oh man…why him?

He decided to just settle the man in and return to his duties. Akamaru whined uneasily but Kiba just petted the nin-dog's head. Kakashi-san would be fine…hopefully.

A few hours later….

Shizune glanced bounded over the treetops stealthily. She sighed…ah it felt so good to finally get out of the hospital. Normally, the chief medic would not be risked on a solo mission unaccompanied. But with the recent retreat of Sound, spirits were generally high. And besides, Shizune could handle most shinobi on her own. She smiled maliciously.

Her slim appearance had caused many a ninja to underestimate her. And one should never overlook the apprentice of a Sannin. Especially when the apprentice in question had spent many years tailing the aforementioned Sannin across the world. Yes, her knowledge had come at a huge price. Shizune had had to spend many years away from the only home she had ever known. _It's not like there's anything here for you_, a voice whispered.

Shizune quailed at the truthfulness of the statement. Konoha had had nothing attaching her to it at that time. In truth, the village still had little that appealed to her. Her family had all given their lives for this village, and while Shizune would no doubt lay her life down for Konoha, her loyalties lay in a different direction. Shizune, you see, had devoted her entire life to Tsunade, the current Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

Sure, the woman was not without faults. Shizune, more than anybody else, was fully aware of Tsunade's faults. She shuddered at the memory of being constantly on the run for days, attempting to escape from loan sharks. It had been a tiring life but she had had companionship.

Shizune had been glad to return to Konoha, if only for the fact that they could finally stay in the same place. As the years passed by though, Shizune found that she felt slightly stifled by the role of Hokage-sama's assistant. She much preferred working in the hospital to doing administrative work. Occasionally though, she would stare out of the window and feel stirrings of wanderlust. One did not simply go from moving around constantly to suddenly staying in one place for long periods of time. It was disorientating.

Then, there was also the fact that she and Godaime had been growing apart. During their travels together, they had been close, very close. Tsunade-sama had become more than someone she idolized; more than just the fiancée of her dead brother. She had become like family to Shizune. Lately though, Shizune felt disconnected from her. She felt aloof of everything around her. She…She felt…lonely. The woman finally found the word to describe her feelings.

But no…why _was _she lonely? She had made friends, met kouhai like Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan who were all wonderful people. And she had her pig. She saw other shinobi like Kotetsu and Izumo at the office everyday. It wasn't like she was a recluse, right? Besides, with the war going on, nobody really socialized much…there simply was no time anymore.

Shizune sighed and continued on her way, silently praying that whoever she was supposed to help was still alive.

Kiba lifted a hand in greeting of the medic-nin that had answered his summons. "Hey! Up here!"

Shizune scowled at his greeting. _ Really! _"You! Chuunin! You should be more respectful of your senpai!"

"Huh?" Kiba frowned. What had crawled up this woman's ass and died?

"Ano…the patient is in the loft at the back of the tower…I'll be continuing my duties then. Ja!" He said, showing her the loft before taking his leave briskly. He had no patience to be around such a prickly personality; especially not when he recognized her as the Hokage's assistant.

Shizune glared at his hastily departing form. _Such manners!_ Hmph! She decided to get started. The stupid Inuzuka had not even told her what was wrong with the man she was supposed to treat!

She stepped into the loft irritably and began taking out her instruments calmly. General check-up first then. She walked over to the man and spotted his wounds. Gash to the lower abdomen, inflamed, possibly poisoned wound along his swollen right leg, numerous light cuts and abrasions upon the rest of his body. The man was a mess and his grey pallor indicated that he was suffering the effects of poison. Time to get to work. She focused chakra in her hands first, intent on healing the gash on his abdomen.

There was no sense on letting the man bleed to death while she worked after all. She watched as the wound close itself before binding it with cloth to ward off infection. Shizune closed her eyes as she moved on to the trickier part. Poison was always hard to deal with, no matter the manner of treatment.

Hours trickled by as she worked on him diligently. Eventually, Shizune felt fatigue overcome her; even an experienced medic like her could not hope to heal _all_ of his injuries – not while neutralizing two different types of poisons as well. She stood up to get a glass of water. The rest of it was up to the patient.

Will, more importantly the will to live, was very important in her profession. That was something Shizune had learned long ago. The problem was, many shinobi, for all their death-defying stunts and measures they pulled to complete missions, lacked that will. Many of them felt they were not living truly in the first place. Death was something they knew well. And ninjas were, on the whole, unafraid of death.

Shizune knew many of her comrades would welcome the Grim Reaper with open arms. And she didn't know if she would do otherwise. Eventually, a ninja began to despise herself for the things she had seen and done; eventually, she would lose the will to live; eventually, she would believe she deserved to die.

And it got worse the longer a shinobi lived. Her patient had had grey hair too. And he had a Jounin's patch on his sleeve. Her heart sank. Shizune's eyes blurred for a second as weariness engulfed her. She had gone beyond her limits for the day. All for a man who was going to die.

She shook her head at the realization and sagged down in the chair beside her patient's bed. All that power and effort expanded, for nothing. Just like everything else she did. Sometimes, it was just too much.

She drifted off into sleep slowly. _She wished – she wished he would live._

(A/N: ok, had this chapter typed a long time ago…if Shizune seems OOC its because she's really tired and she's in a state where her focus is really narrow…you know…the kind where you pick out tiny details but your brain isn't able to connect them…oh yea…she hasn't realized Kakashi is Kakashi yet…she spends all her time healing…he spend all this time on field…so other than the Naruto connection they don't have anything yet…)

Reviewer Response:

Krows Scared: hee…the plot bunny bit again…thank you for the review! And how can anyone _not_ be a Kashi fan? As for the romance…yeps its high time he had some…but this is my first time even attempting to write romance…so be kind…hahaz…

feifiefofum: Thanks for reviewing! And Kakashi is cool…so I have to write him that way…LoL…and yeps, I type too fast…normally I check stuff over…but most times I just update the moment I finish typing…oops…

Polaris: Thank you! And its not a fic yet…jus crazy bursts of writing…I don't even have a plot mapped out yet…sad, ne?


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